I had to get a lot of work done today. I had meetings and writing to get done, so Katie had her first show-some-initiative, do it yourself “work day” for home school. She started out working on her one page journal entry based on the visit to King Tut, but that rapidly degenerated into organizing… More First Home “Work Day”: Meaning Both of Us Worked!
Today was our first home school field trip. It was awesome. We did a lot of studying ahead – we rented a number of movies from Netflix (see list below) and it really helped us prepare for the event. We also spent time learning more about the culture from the book, Ancient Egypt Revealed. It… More Field Trip: King Tut at the De Young in San Francisco
Katie does not want to do home school. She is convinced she’s not going to have any friends and that spending time with me is going to totally suck. It’s been a long summer dealing with her anxiety about home school. Because we don’t know what to expect, she’s dreading it. Thank goodness, this week… More The Experiment Begins
Now that the elections in the U.S. are over, I am inspired by the culmination of what was a tedious, arduous, sometimes aggravating process. I am inspired because in the end, my daughter, who is nine, became engaged, excited and encouraged about the process and the result. In California, we had a number of important… More When Kids Rock the Vote: Tech Educates, Unifies
Have you watched The Baby Borrowers yet? I am not a big one for reality TV, I don’t even watch American Idol. But I had read about the impact this show had when it was done in the UK and I was anxious to see if American television would somehow mess it up. Good news:… More Baby Borrowers: TV You Can Watch with the Family
If you are a parent of younger children, this blog will depress you. If you are a parent of younger children, you need to read this blog. I just finished reading a long, intense article in Fast Company about the relationship between China and Africa. At first blush, you might wonder what it has to… More If You Care About Your Child’s Future, You Must Read This Blog
I live in California and I am served by Pacific Gas & Electric for my utilities. Last month, as I proceeded to review my online bill, I saw an interesting ad for ClimateSmart. I was being offered to businesses, but as a student of Jim Rockford*, I have learned that just because your name isn’t… More Green You Can Do: Offsetting Your Google Footprint
A of couple weeks ago I was talking with a business associate who surprised me with some bad news. Happens all the time right – except I got emotional and realized it would benefit our business relationship if I got the heck off the phone and stopped talking. So I begged off to get my… More Why I Hate Spam (Filters)
Today’s blog is strictly personal. Last weekend, we made a mistake. We accidentally forgot to open the door to our chicken roost so the chickens had to sleep in the coop without the protection of the roost. Around 3am, I heard a horrible noise. I cannot say enough about how horrible that noise was. I… More Chicken Little: The Night the Sky Fell
I had no idea what I was getting into. Sure I wanted to try the new Wii Fit. It sounded great. Only I blew it. I didn’t preorder it – what was I thinking – and no matter how I tried, I couldn’t find it locally. And then it happened. Kismet. Chance. Divine intervention. I… More Family Feud: Three Generations Compete on the Wii Fit!
Some days, I am so wiped out I just want to make a bowl of microwave popcorn, grab a Diet Pepsi and watch reruns. But no, I decided to be a mom. So I must soldier on. But it seems like tech could help me out just a bit. Here’s my list of what tech… More I Got Your Innovation Right Here! Top Ten Ways Tech Could Help Tired Moms
[Photo from the Santa Cruz Sentinel – see the rest here] Day two of the Santa Cruz wildfire and things are looking a bit better. We are cautiously optimistic with 20% containment (as of 10:30am). The wind has shifted and is coming off the ocean which means it is cooler, wetter and going a completely… More Santa Cruz Summit Fire: Keeping Up with the Breaking News
Permission slips were due last Friday for the school talent show. Let’s get real, this is elementary school – how much talent can there really be? The slip specifically noted no “lip singing” which appalled me. Is there no one proofreading these documents or do they really think that means lip-synching? Anyway… After a day… More The School Talent Show, Twitter, American Idol and the Joy of Parenting
Today, around the world, bloggers are coming together to write about a single topic: Human Rights. An online event sponsored by Bloggers Unite, this effort is intended to “shine a light” on a single topic with different – lets face it millions of – perspectives from all over the globe. When my daughter finally ends… More Bloggers Unite for Human Rights: Five Family Films that will Foster Discussion
It’s Mother’s Day and my kid has been sick all weekend so I really didn’t get a chance to pull anything together for my mom. Somehow she snuck a bear claw into the house yesterday so my daughter, coughing and gasping, still managed to surprise me with breakfast in bed (said bear claw and a… More Cyber Gramma: Why I Still Need My Mom in a High Tech World